"You got the Dominion Rod! This mystical artifact breathes life into ancient statues. Set it to [B] on the ["-"] screen, use [W] to aim [R], and press [B] to swing the rod. Statues that have received its light and been filled with life will move like their master."

The Dominion Rod, also called the Rod of the Heavens,[1][2] is an item that appears exclusively in Twilight Princess. Link acquires the Dominion Rod in the Temple of Time, after defeating the Mini-Boss, a Darknut. It can be used to control statues, such as the Ancient Statue found in the Temple of Time or the Owl Statues found across Hyrule. Once these statues have been controlled, they move exactly as their master, who in this case is Link.[3][4][5] The main use of this is to move the statues to a new location, which is the premise behind most of the puzzles that involve the Dominion Rod.

Contents

Story

Lost Power

Once Link returns from the past-state of the Sacred Grove and into the present-state, Ooccoo tells him that the Dominion Rod is what she has been looking for all this time.[6][7] She continues by revealing to Link that she can see that the rod's power has been exhausted.[8] Before running off in search of the Owl Statues that "respond to the rod",[9] Ooccoo mumbles about a spell that can restore the Dominion Rod's power, which she has forgotten.[10] Once Ooccoo is gone, Midna explains to Link that without its power the Dominion Rod is just more baggage.[11] However, she says that restoring the power to the rod will definitely come in handy, especially in their attempt to reach the heavens, where the final Mirror Shard lies.[12]

Restoring the Power

The Dominion Rod is completely unused during the first few events of the quest to reach the City in the Sky. It is finally brought back once Link has given the Horse Call back to Ilia. After telling Link that she is fine and that he must return to his quest,[13] she tells Link that Impaz from the Hidden Village is waiting for the messenger of the heavens who holds the rod of the heavens, because it is by royal decree that she gives him something.[14] The mysterious rod is obviously the Dominion Rod, so that makes Link the messenger of the heavens. With this new found knowledge, Link can head back over to the Hidden Village, where Impaz awaits. Upon arriving in the Hidden Village and entering Impaz's House, Link can show Impaz the Dominion Rod, at which point Impaz exclaims that Link is the messenger to the heavens.[15] After a little backstory of the Dominion Rod, she gives Link the Ancient Sky Book, which by royal decree was only to be given to the messenger of the heavens.[16][17] She concludes by telling Link that the book is written in the ancient language of Sky Writing.[18]

With the Ancient Sky Book in hand, Link can head to the basement of the Sanctuary, where Shad awaits. After showing Shad the book, he exclaims that this book may contain the word that breaks the seal on the Owl Statue found in the basement.[19] He tries it out, but there is no reaction.[20] However, Shad thanks Link for bringing him one step closer to solving this puzzle.[21] He returns the book to Link[21] and explains that he is going to try the word out on the other statues.[22] He concludes by offering to mark Link's map with the locations of the other statues.[23] Once Shad has left, the Dominion Rod starts to flash. Link can hold it up, at which point it is revealed that the Dominion Rod has regained its power thanks to the word spoken by Shad.[24] With the Dominion Rod's power back, Link can continue his quest in search of the City in the Sky.

Final Dungeons

There are only two other places where Owl Statues can be found, and those are found within the Cave of Ordeals and Hyrule Castle, respectively. In the Cave of Ordeals, there are two Owl Statues that push down switches. Moving these statues releases the switches, opening the gate that leads to the next floor. In Hyrule Castle, the Owl Statues are found in the hidden graveyard at the back of the dungeon. These Owl Statues must be moved to a location where Link can jump on them to reach another platform, where a Small Key lies.

Trivia

There is a glitch in Twilight Princess which allows Link to bypass the entire Sky Cannon quest by transforming into a wolf right in front of the Owl Statue in the basement of the Sanctuary. If done correctly, Link lands on the statue, allowing him to continue into the depths of the basement. This allows Link to skip the entire Temple of Time dungeon. Since the Dominion Rod is only required to collect the Sky Characters, which is during the Sky Cannon quest, this glitch makes it possible to complete the game without collecting the Dominion Rod.

Gallery

References

↑ "Statues, the word that breaks the seal, and the rod of the heavens... It just gets odder and odder..." — Shad, Twilight Princess.

↑ "You got the Dominion Rod! This mystical artifact breathes life into ancient statues. Set it to [B] on the ["-"] screen, use [W] to aim [R], and press [B] to swing the rod. Statues that have received its light and been filled with life will move like their master." — In-Game Description, Twilight Princess.

↑ "I have made the rounds of these statues so many times that I have memorized their locations. I will place marks on your map so you can find them, in case you wish to track me down." — Shad, Twilight Princess.

↑ "Power has returned to the Dominion Rod! This mystical rod breathes life into ancient statues. Set it to [B] on the ["-"] screen, then aim it with [W] and swing it with [B] to make statues mimic your moves." — In-Game Description, Twilight Princess.